Good golf begins with a good grip. As described in “The Golf Swing” The Stephen Green Press, 1990; David Leadbetter's Faults and Fixes” Harper Collins Press, 1993; and “Positive Practice” Harper Collins Publishers, 1997, a good golf grip may not lead necessarily to a good swing, but a bad grip is much more likely to cause a bad golf swing. As is well accepted by those of ordinary skill in the art of the golf game, a good solid hold on the club is a first key step towards a correct positioning of the club head throughout the golf swing. Generally, a poor gripping of the club will place too much emphasis on the hands, and will lead to an over-controlling of the club and movement of the club head out of the preferred position for contacting the golf ball. In an athletic swing, the role of the hands is reduced as much as possible.
Many golfers position the golf club or grip in their hands in such a manner that makes it difficult to generate an optimum energy necessary to hit a golf ball their maximum distance. It is desirable that the golfer properly fit the top hand onto the grip. The top hand is the left hand for a right-handed swing, and typically the hand that wears a golf glove for improving the grip. The top hand represents an essential coupling of the golfer to the club. Unfortunately, what may look correct may actually conceal a poor grip. By way of example, it is desirable that the club be held primarily in the fingers of the bottom hand (the right hand for the right handed swing), and that the shaft of the club be diagonally positioned from the base of the little finger through the joints of the second and third fingers and on to the middle of the index finger. When the bottom hand is closed, the top hand thumb should be covered, fitting snugly beneath the fleshy pad at the base of the bottom hand thumb. Various grips have been developed in an effort to train a golfer to achieve a desirable gripping of the golf club and place the hands for a “proper” swinging of the club, such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,299,802 to Bouchet-Lassale and 5,984,795 to Stafford.
As those of skill in the art are well aware, details abound with respect to instructions for the “perfect swing.” Further, the art is filled with devices and gimmicks for improving the golf swing to save but a few strokes during a round of golf. However, there remains a need to provide the feel for the proper fitting of the hands to the grip of the golf club, without attempting to clutter the mind with the intricate details of each anatomical element and its relation to the club.
There is further a need to aid the golfer in achieving a smooth flowing motion in the golf swing. By way of example, weighted golf clubs and training shafts have been used to improve the tempo and mechanics of the golf swing, as illustrated by way of example with reference to U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,388,463 to Benecke and 6,475,098 to Nemeckay for gold swing training devices. Sliding weights have also been used to aid in the timing of a “release” of the golf, such as the golf club attachment of U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,950,115 to Hurdzan and 4,027,886 to Katsube for improving the timing in a golf swing. Those of skill in the art understand that there is a distinction between hitting the ball and swinging through the ball requiring a synchronized movement of the golf club during the swing. The present invention provides a training device and method for achieving a desirable swing.